Jazz Luminaries to Honor Life of Drummer Max Roach at UMass Amherst March 25
March 19, 2008
| Contact: | Marilyn Kushick 413/545-0018 |
AMHERST, Mass. – A major tribute to the great jazz drummer Max Roach will take place at UMass Amherst on Tuesday, March 25, 2008. Luminaries from around the country will join students and faculty in celebration of the man often called a founder of modern jazz. Many of the participants in the day’s activities interacted and performed with Roach during the time that he was a faculty member in the UMass Amherst Music & Dance Department, 1972 to 1994. All three events are free of charge and open to the public.
Photo Gallery Presentation & Alumni Jazz Ensemble Performance, 1 pm Cape Cod Lounge, Student Union
Photographer Ed Cohen & Raoul Roach, Max’s son, will discuss Cohen’s photos of Max Roach which will be on display in the Lounge. There will a performance by jazz alumni of the Music & Dance Department: Tom Briggs, Jake Epstein, Andy Jaffe, Genevieve Rose, Avery Sharpe and Royal Hartigan. A reading will follow by UMass Amherst English Professor, Martin Espada.
Panel Discussion, 3:30 pm New Africa House, 2nd floor
The Influence of Max Roach at UMass Amherst & Beyond will be discussed by Herb Boyd, Sonia Sanchez, Billy Taylor, Frederick Tillis and Jake Epstein. Professor John H. Bracey, Jr., will be the moderator.
27th Annual Jazz Showcase Concert, 8 pm Bowker Auditorium
Highlights of the concert include Roach’s music/arrangements: Dr. Free-Zee, Lift Every Voice and Sing and I Get a Kick Out of You, as well as Pedal Suite for Double Jazz Quartet, commissioned by Roach and composed by Jeff Holmes. The performers will be UMass Amherst Jazz groups--Jazz Ensemble I, Chapel Jazz Ensemble, Jazz Lab Ensemble, Vocal Jazz Ensemble and various Chamber Jazz Ensembles--directed by Professor Jeff Holmes (producer of the event), Catherine Jensen-Hole, David Sporny, Paul Lieberman and Arturo O’Farrill. Guest artists include: The Lark String Quartet, Robert Gullotti, Yusef Lateef, Salvatore Macchia, Billy Taylor, Frederick Tillis, Sonia Sanchez and Reggie Workman.
The Tribute is presented by the Office of the Provost, College of Humanities & Fine Arts, African-American Studies Department, Department of Music & Dance and the Fine Arts Center.
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